Untouchable
by Writing1sLife
Summary: Don't let them touch you, don't let them feel your presence. If they do...
1. Chapter 1

Last Message

"To the people of this planet we call home, this is the first and last message that I shall be able to deliver to you. It is vital that you survive. Our threat is one that feels like no other. Don't let them near you. Five of my security detail died fighting to save my life, the rest are most likely gone securing any cabinet members they could."

"I am the first President to lose every last member of the Secret Service ever in service to him…I shall also be the last. Even now they search for me. I have taken this risk to send this message because I have learned that the other side of our planet is also plagued by them now."

"I apologize unto every last human being still living. I have failed my duty to you and failed to protect you. I wish I knew where a mistake was made, but I know that the worst mistake we can make now is to fight them. We cannot; not as we are right now. Those who fought died. To live, we must change."

"Forgive me, I have been found-KSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT"


	2. Chapter 2

**Rocket**

 **(Upstate New York, 2020)**

What does one think of when one thinks of New York? One generally remembers or thinks upon towering skyscrapers, of crowded city streets with cars forming lines at intersections, of bridges like the Brooklyn Bridge, of noisy crowds and horns, of people of every race, color, and tongue walking the streets side by side or passing each other as they move forward with their lives.

But that is Manhattan, made famous by various movies and the fact that it is an island. This is out in the country where they were to be found. One could so easily become fixated upon the city and buildings that one forgot that New York was more than just the city of Manhattan. There was the countryside with trees and farms, people, cows and dogs; all manner of life lived out in the country, though it was a much different way of living when you departed from the cities.

When one entered the countryside, everything became more open and flatter, with only minor interruptions in the landscape. Trees in groups or standing lonely in places where the seed had taken root, bales of hay rolled together into massive, round shapes that had yet to be taken into the barn, the occasional farm house with equipment outside it, fields of corn or other plants in neat rows. You could see the stars at night, for real, without having to strain, for artificial light did not interfere. It was so much quieter, and that made life feel like it could be taken at a much slower pace, like everything would happen in its due time and you moved along with it.

The land moved and you moved along with it. You didn't fight it, but rather simply accepted what was, what had been, and what was yet to be. The seasons changed and you changed to. You found a way to live like everything else did; by perseverance and seeking peace in all that you did. Out here, it was easier to actually believe in and accept that there was a place called Heaven and God.

Out here, it was also much easier to be isolated and lost, if one was not careful. Communication was limited by distance at certain points and locations. But that was also something one accepted, and, currently, people seemed to prefer to target a place in the city rather than out in the country. Still, that didn't include wildlife which came and went as it pleased.

Things had been quiet lately in recent months. Too quiet one might say. The world had changed; albeit, a bit more dramatically than one could have anticipated or easily explained. The one thing concerning people these days was surviving to the next day.

 **. . . . .**

A pair of tiny feet padded across the floor. A pair of somewhat larger and more mature feet followed them, on the balls rather than flat with the heel making first contact. The littler form padded quickly, yet quietly, across the deserted aisles, while the much older silhouette of the sister followed at a much slower pace.

The family was searching the market for supplies. Little Beau moved swiftly, as boys his age did, yet he was old enough to be obedient. Reagan, followed her little brother along quietly, doing her best to not make noise. Her mother, Evelyn, was near the shelves, where her oldest brother, Marcus, rested. He was wrapped in a jacket and scarf alongside his usual attire. He was not doing very well as of late. He had caught a bug and was rather sick. Thankfully it wasn't anything that made him cough. That would have been very problematic.

As a former doctor, Evelyn was the one best suited to search for the medicine. The rest of the family was good at searching for basic needs like food, not that there was much in the way of organics, but the cans were easy to find, books were always welcome, and anything involving supplies that were for other needs were easily passed through Lee, husband and father to the family. Something of a survivalist since the incident, he was the one best suited to getting the whole family through each day.

Marcus wearily observed his mother delicately maneuver the containers around the shelves. Searching for… there, that was the one she needed. Quietly she returned to her son, gave him the pills from the capsule, opened and closed as silently as possible, and gave him a drink from the water container, yet again, quietly. That was when she noticed Reagan behind her. _He is fine,_ she said with her hands to her daughter. Reagan nodded and left to find Beau. Sign language; it had been their salvation in a changed world.

Beau was found upon the floor, drawing. Several pieces of multi-colored chalk lay near him. Each had been wielded with delicate precision. The boy seemed to be nearly finished. His little drawing was simple, but rather beautiful all the same. A shape that flew it looked like, higher than the clouds, into the stars.

The young boy's hands came together into signage. One hand down into his palm and then two intertwined fingers rising up and up. _Rocket_. He smiled a little bit.

 _Very nice_ , signed Reagan with a small smile. He was so young and so talented already. One could underestimate how much he knew and was capable of.

 _That's how we'll get away_. His little eyes shone with certainty and belief. Reagan's face went to a more troubled expression at this. He actually believed… She did not know what to say or do to something like that. He quietly got up and departed from where he had sat, leaving his sister to sit there with her thoughts. He believed that escape from their dilemma was as easy as that. His mind, his world, it was so simple and pure that it actually hurt to try to explain to him that it was not like that.

Her thoughts re-centered and she rose. It did not do to be apart for too long. It was very unwise. Nobody traveled alone. Nobody. There were few places one was capable of being alone anymore.

The little fingers of Beau were straining, boosted by a platform, to reach an object of interest. On his toes, he reached and reached, gently nudging the prize a little bit closer. Closer. He almost had it… then it fell over the edge; plummeting towards the floor, which was always waiting to receive anything gravity brought to it.

Caught! A breathless Reagan knelt on the floor, where she had slid on her knees to stop the toy from hitting the tile floor, clutching the space shuttle tightly. Too close. If she had not gone looking for him, then…

She let a few short, yet restrained, gasps, looking to the figure of her father who was further down the aisle near the shop's entrance. She gathered herself together and helped her brother down, then placed the toy on a lower shelf, and gently escorted him away. He resisted slightly, before, in disappointment, allowing himself to be moved on from the toy that had captured his fancy.

It was because he was so young that his sister could understand his choice, but also regret how he didn't really seem to have the ability to weigh the wisdom of his actions quite yet. Perhaps it wasn't even that, it was just difficult with the temptation that young children were easily susceptible to. Of course, temptation could strike anyone these days. It was a matter of, in theory, how determined you were to actually live. Maybe it was something else. Reagan simply felt relieved to have been there in time.

Her father was sorting through his backpack slowly and with exaggerated motions that prevented too much rustling or other noises. _Go find your mother_ , he gently signed with a smile to Beau. She picked up one item in particular and gave a questioning look to Lee. It was a circuit board.

 _For the radio?_

He signed back. _Might help us boost the signal._ He placed a camera inside, alongside a number of other electronics he had been collecting. One object, placed in her blue backpack, next to her father's green, caught her eye and she withdrew it so as to get a better look at it. It was pair of large pliers with blue rubber on the handles. _For you_ , her father signed smiling.

 _Thank you_ , she returned, warmed inside by the unexpected gift. It could prove very useful.

A gentle pat upon the shoulder of her father by her mother brought his attention to her. _It will be dark soon._ It would indeed be for the best to head home while it was still light, otherwise they ran greater risk.

The only one missing from the family now was Beau, for Marcus was by the side of Evelyn. Her brother came into view and all eyes turned to him. Reagan felt herself grow slightly cold at the sight of her brother as she felt her father physically stiffen next to her. The boy held something close to his chest. Her father moved slowly, and with some measure of cautious concern, towards him, before gently taking hold of the toy and removing it from the boy's tiny hands. He moved slowly towards the counter, gently pulling out the batteries from the toy rocket, and then placed both items upon the counter where he left them, kneeling before the boy with a slow shake of his head. The boy's face was expressing a little bit of confusion. _Listen to me: too loud_. He signed the words to the boy, and then with a gentle hand on the shoulder quietly stood. He returned to picking up his backpack and departing while his mother gently rubbed a hand on his cheek. He was slightly pouty now, expressing disappointment that was showing bright as sunlight upon his face.

Reagan knew how he felt. The toy had definitely taken his interest. He would never really be able to forget it, and if they came back, it would be the first thing he would be looking for. She looked after the departing figure of her father, then back to her youngest brother. He was so small and had experienced a number of sad changes that had disrupted all of the joy and happiness there was to find in the world for him. One small little thing would not be too much, especially if it made him smile. She took the shuttle off of the counter and returned it to him causing his little features to brighten.

She put a finger to her lips with a smile and retrieved her backpack and walked out, knowing he would follow.

 **. . . . .**

Out into the sun they walked, a family, all clad in jackets and jeans for autumn had come. Leaves rustled across the concrete, paper magazines with headlines flapped as the pages were stirred by the wind. There were traffic lights lying upon the ground where they had fallen, untouched. Soaring high above, were the crows and the ravens, the kind of birds to feed upon the dead, but nothing much else could be seen in the clouds. Vehicles sat empty and abandoned along the roads in the small town.

Billboards decorated with paper signified the state of the place for attached to them were pictures of the lost and missing. They were not for missing pets. They contained the faces of people, so many missing people. So many lost and unable to be accounted for; maybe never. It was truly sad to see something that could not be touched.

New York in Autumn was a beautiful time, with the trees bursting into incredible colors, the land changing, and the crops becoming ready for harvest with seeds and potential. It was a time that brought people together from far and wide to share in all that life had given them, when they prepared for the coming of the silence brought by winter. There was no joy to necessarily be found now, but one could still appreciate what one had.

Down the concrete roads, along the sandy path, the family walked. The line of sand stretched all the way from their destination, straight back home. A path to guide back home, and much more. Bare feet were all around, not a single shoe or sock to be found. All walked upon the sand and nowhere else. To walk off the path… was not wise. No sound was there to be heard. No animals or people, save nothing but the rustling of the wind through the trees, causing limbs and leaves to rub against each other.

The grocery store they had entered and left, was well known to the family for Evelyn worked there in the town. Their home was some miles from there, but it wasn't too difficult to walk the distance. What took mere minutes once upon a different time now took easily close to half an hour. The railroads that passed over the road home were silent and empty, therefore there was nothing to fear about walking on them to travel towards their destination. Nothing passed over them anymore, no vehicles had driven this way in months, and nobody had been seen or heard of for some time. All was surrendered unto nature now. Silence and stillness now engulfed their world. A world that had once been filled with so many things was now all but devoid of everything.

They were coming to bridge that traversed the river. Soon they would be home. Lee carried Marcus, displaying no signs of hesitation or negativity. His backpack, like that of a hiker in the wilderness, rode on his back, but he carried son and back both with no apparent strain. Evelyn, her blond hair flowing in the wind, smiled slightly at some stray thought, her own backpack resting on her shoulders. Their eldest child was Reagan and she quietly trailed in the line at third, with the youngest being Beau at the back. They had walked this way a number of times; still nobody spoke out or made any actions that were of an energetic nature. Reagan smiled at the sun, the plants, and the water. She could see it; therefore, she could enjoy it and love what God had made. There was something that she missed until she saw her father turn around with a concerned expression. That was when she also saw her mother's expression. What?

 **. . . . .**

He was carrying his son. Halfway down the bridge, he froze. What was that? _Where_ was that?

Noise.

Animated _bleeps_ , _dings_ , and _whooshes_. His ears suggested the noise to be behind him. He turned, worried, and then he saw the source.

 _No, put it away right now_ , he thought desperately, depositing Marcus on the ground, and quickly fighting to get his backpack off.

Got to reach him and stop him now. He raced pass his wife, his daughter staring and turning to follow his hurried figure.

 **. . . . .**

Rocket. Beautiful wonderful rocket. He was flying the space shuttle. Up and up and up. Higher and higher.

Above the moon. Above the stars, past the sun, far from Earth. Safe. No more worries. His little heart light, his face beaming. Beau was far away in the vastness of the imagination, flying his gift through space. Lights flickered and flashed different colors on the nose and wingtips of the shuttle. The speaker system let out the most beautiful sounds.

He had taken the batteries with him, after a few seconds of the deliberation. How could it possibly hurt? It was a toy, not something sharp like a knife or anything. He was restless and wanted to feel joy in his little heart.

Each step further away from the store, his little hands itched. His hands finally pulled out the little object and stared at it a bit, but then put it away thinking his dad might not really approve. Before too long it was back out. Then he couldn't stand it any longer. At the bridge entrance, feeling absolutely secure, yet desperate, he placed the batteries inside and pressed the button.

He was far away, so _very_ far away. Everything was right again. Play, fun, there was nothing to fear. He was content, but he never wanted to stop. Fly more. Farther. Higher yet. Dodge the meteorites, greet the aliens. Go through a black hole to another universe where everything shimmered like the rainbow. He landed upon a world made of diamonds.

And then as he turned from a spin in place, he saw his father racing towards him. Not looking angry; but scared, _terrified_ truthfully.

 _Snap_ , _krackt_ , _chunk_ , _rustle_.

. . . . .

 _IT WAS COMING!_ He didn't know why or how his son had taken the toy back, nor did it matter. He must reach him! Before it was too late! Stop the sounds, stop the vibrations. Quickly; or his son would die! Maybe his whole family!

His long legs churned, his bare feet slapped with reckless abandon upon the sandy path, his breath hissing in desperate puffs as he strained to outrun the figure. Coming through the trees. To the right! Didn't have to see it to know what it was.

He was close, but not enough, _not enough_! Please God, let him not be too late; make it in time, please, please!

His son turned, snapping out of voyage through his imagination, and his eyes widened as Lee charged in desperation.

The snapping and cracking increased in volume. It was too close! Too close! Only one chance…

His son turned at the sound to his left.

It exploded into the air, all wrong and misshapen...

And Lee's hand swung through empty space, his feet dancing madly on the sand, as he sought to keep his balance from his desperate, wild lunge.


End file.
